Combined seed-drill and cultivator



(No Model.) I 3 Sheets-Sheet 1'. v v

A. MATTHEWS as; J. B. S'MAL L.

GOMBINED SEED DRILL AND OULTIV ATO-R.

N0. 295,263. Patented Mar. 18, 1884.

(No Model.) V 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 A. H. MATTHEWS 83 J. SMALL.

GOMBINED'SEED DRILL AND GULTIVATOB.

Patented Mar. 18, 1884-.

wifnesses;

3 SheetsSheet '3'. A. H. MATTHEWS & J. -B. SMALL. COMBINED SEED DRILL AND GULTIVATOR.

N0. 295,263. Patented Mar. 18, 1884.

(No Model.)

ALBERT H. MATTHEWS,

A ES 1;

COMBINED SEED-DRILL AND CULTlVATOR.

$PEGIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 295,263, dated March 18, 1884. Application filed October l7, (No model.)

10. exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and in which- Figure 1 represents a side view of our aforesaid improved combined seed-drill and cultivator, the cultivators and attachments being shown by dotted lines in this figure. Fig. '2 represents a central vertical longitudinal section through the machine, with the cultivators left off. Fig. 3 represents, upon an enlarged scale, a top or plan view of the centralfportions of the machine, showing our improvements upon thesecd-clrill, with the cultivators left off. Fig. arepresents, upon the same enlarged scale as Fig. 3, a vertical transverse section through the parts shown in said Fig.

3, taken on line A 13, looking in the direction of the arrow, same figure. Fig. 5 represents a full-size plan view of the under side of our improved gage-plate for regulating the delivo cry of the seed, which will be hereinafter more fully described; and Fig. 6 represents, upon the same enlarged scale as Figs. 3 and 4,a side view of a portion of one of the cultivators, showing our improvement upon the same,

5 which will also be hereinafter more fully described.

Our improvements upon a combined seeddrill and cultivator relate to the marker'arms and markers, the gage-platc, its combination 4o with-adjoining parts of the machine, and the manner of adjusting the same for delivering the various kinds of seeds, also the manner of holding and pivoting the same, the construction and arrangement of the Seed box or hop- 5 per and bed-plate, the brackets forholding thehandle's of the machine, and thecultivator-blade holders.

To enable those skilled in the art to which, our invention relates to makeand use the same, we will proceed to describe it more in In the drawings, 0 0 represent the longi tudinal side frames, to which are fastened the bed-plate D seed-coverer E, handle-brackets FF, seed-indicator plate G, and other parts hereinafter described.

The construction and arrangement of the driving-wheel H, provided with a ratchet-ring, H, for operating the agitator J within the seed-hopper in the usual manner, as" is customary in seed-drills of this class, also the earthcompressing wheel I at the rear, the seed-coverer E, the handles K K, and the coltivators and their attachments, are all similar to those in common use, and therefore do not need. to be described here, as they form no part of our present invention, with the exception of our improvement upon the attachment for the cultivators to be hereinafter fully described.

The conductor or drill L is also of old construction and arrangement, except at its upper end, where it is attached, which improvements will be hereinafter described. a

The seed box or. hopper M is provided at them with the usual hinged cover, M, but at the bottom is made open, and the bottom M formed upon or secured to the bed-plate D, instead of upon said box, as in the usual way. The bottomless box M is held in position over the inclined bottom M", as shown in the drawings, by its fitting inside of a flange, a, formed on the top of said bed-plate, and by bolts or set-screws Z) Z), passed through flanges c 0, formed on the box, and flanges d (1 formed on the bed-plate, which are held by nuts e e, turned down against the flanges. (See Fig. 2 of the drawings.) Any other convenient method than the above for fastening the box in position may be adopted, if preferred.

As will be seen by Figs. 2, 3, and 4, that part ofthe bed-plate D which constitutes the bottom of the seed-hox is made concave in shape, and at the bottom is provided with the usual opening, f, for the seed to pass through. Upon the under side of said bottom M is also formed or Secured a hearing or hub, g, which acts as a pivot for the gage-plate N, the latter being provided with a central opening, h. so

that it may be fitted over said hub g. The gage-plate N is held in position by the upper surface of the conductor or drill L, which is fastened by means of bolts and nuts '5 to oneof the longitudinal frames 0, and to the hub g by means of ascrew, j, extending into said the box-bottom M and top surface of the conductor L is made just sufficient to admit of' the gage-plate N easily turning between the same, andyet not allow the seeds to work out over the surface of the plate between said parts.

Therefore, when an opening in the plate does not come under the opening in theboX-bot tom, the passage of the seed is effectually cut off without the use of an additional tightplate or disk, such as is commonly used; and by'our construction of both pivoting the gage-plate and fastening the upper end of the conductor to one point, as aforesaid, considerable eX- pense in manufacturing is obviated, and a good bearing-surface for the gage-plate is obtained. Said gage-plate N is constructed and operated to discharge the various kinds of seeds, as required, in the-following manner: A series of openings, 7c, ranging from a large opening for the largest seeds, such as corn, &c., to openings for the smallest seeds, are formed in the plate, near its outer edge, as is shown in Figs. 3 and 5, the smaller openings being made flaring upon their under sides, as shown at kin Fig. 5, so that the seeds will not clog in passing through. Upon the outer edge of the plate are formed or secured indicatingpoints lm n, of different lengths in this instance, and to the under sideof one of the longitudinal, frames 0 is fastened a seed-indicator plate, G, as before stated, upon the upper surface of which are formed, stamped, or otherwise designated the various kinds of seeds to be used. In this instance they are arranged in three rows radially, so as to conform with the the three lengths of pointersl m a, the shortest pointer, Z, pointing to or designating what opening in the plateisto be used by stopping it over the name of the seed desired to be used in the inside row of names, the next longer pointer by stopping it over the name of the desired seed in the middle row,'and the longest pointer for the outer row. It will be understood that the openings in the gage-plate are'formed at the proper points to work in unison with the seed-indicator G and indicatorpoints-1m a; or, in other words, so that the proper size of opening for the seed desired to be used will come under the opening in the box-bottom 1W 2 when the indicator-point indicates the name of such seed; After each adjustment of the plate for any desired seed to be discharged said plate is locked or fastened in its adjusted position by means of a hook, 0, which catches into an opening, p, formed in the plate near its outer edge.

An opening, 19, for the hook 0 (which is hinged to one of the side frames 0,) is formed nearthe edge of the gage-plate to hold each seed-opening is under the opening in the boxbottomwhen adjusted in position. An additional'opening, p, is also formed in the plate to holdthe same, so that a blank surface willv --come under the box-bottom opening to-form a shut-off for the seed, as isshown in Figs. 2, 3, and 4 of the drawings. hub. The space between the under side of As will be observed, the operation of adj usting the gage-plate for any kind of seed designated on the indicator-plate G. is very simple and easily performed, and to form a perfect shut-off; as is often necessary in moving from one field to another before the seed-box is empty, the operator has butsimply to turn the gage-plate N so that all of the indicator-points 6 m n will come back of the outside face of the side frame C, upon that side, as is shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings.

If desired, a greater or less number of pointers Z in n, openings 7c and p, and names of seeds may be employed without departing from the principle of our invention.

The parts marked 0 0 represent the markerarms, which turn in suitable bearings formed in the side frames, 0 G. Said marker-arms O and the markers 0 O are in this instance made from metal rods in one piece and bent at the points q; but, if preferred, they maybe made separately and rigidly fastened in any convenient manner at said corners q, and'also made of any other suitable material or shape in cross-section. Said combined arms and markers 0 0 may be adjusted laterally and are held in an elevated position when required, as shown at O in Figs. 1 and 2, in the following manner: Tubular sleeves or cylinders P P fit over and encircle the marker-arms O 0 between the side frames, 0 G, and the arms are held laterally in said sleeves by means of set-screws r r, which extend through the sleeves and bear upon the surface of the arms. When the operator desires to elevate'or lower one of the arms he has only to turn back its respective holding-screw r, and after adj ustment turn it up against said arm again. The set-screws r not only serve to hold the arms and their markers in position laterally, but also in any desired elevated position by bearing upon the surface of the sleeve of the other marker-arm, as is shown in. Figs. 1,2, and 3v of the drawings. By changing the position of the set-screws the arms may be held in any desired elevated position, and the operation of adjusting said arms up or down is very easily performed, as the operator may do the same by means of his foot in a convenient manner, as will readily be seen, without the necessity ofhis stooping over to turn them over by hand. Therefore considerable time is saved over'the usual methods now in vogue.

IIO

In order that a clear and distinct mark may be made upon theground where traversed by the markers,'we arrange a sliding. weight, 8, upon each marker 0, which. drags along the ground when the markers are in operation, and which, when the arms are swung up, slides back against the marker-arms, as shown at s in Fig; 2, and thus relieves the ends of the markers of their weight.

In, practice, we prefer to use the sliding weights 8, but if preferred they may be dis;-

pensed with with very good results, especially by forming hooks upon the ends of the markers to scratch the lines on the ground when drawn over it.

The bearings for the marker-arms may be formed'or fastened in the side frames, 0 O, or to their outer faces in any convenient manner, as desired. i

The handles K K of our improved'machine are held in position by means of angle-brackets F F, so formed as to fit the tops and outer surfaces of the handles when in an inclined position, as shown in the drawings, and with flanges, by means of which to fasten them to the top surfaces of the side frames, 0 G, in a convenient manner. Our improvement upon said brackets consists in forming several openings, t, or a long slot in the same, whereby the handles K may be adjusted longitudinally by meansof a bolt and nut or set-screw. This feature we have found in practice to be of considerable advantage in our machine, and obviates quite a serious objection to the pres ent perms-nently-fastened handles, inasmuch as by making the handles adjustable they may be fitted to a man of any height, so that he can worl: the machine conveniently.

In Figure l we have represented the cultivator part of our machine by means of dotted lines, the frames Q being in practice attached to the side frames G by means of bolts a in the usual way. In Fig. 6 so much of one of the cultivators is shownas is necessary to fully illustrate our improvements, which improvements consist in making the parts R, which support the cultivator-blade holders S, in two parts, 1* to; also, making the contact'surfaces between the two parts circular in shape, and providing each surface with corrugations or teeth a, which mesh one with the other when placed together, as is fully shown in said Fig. 6. The parts are held together when in use by means of a bolt, y, and nut e, which bolt extends up through the parts, and frame Q of the cultivator. The part Q!) is made with an opening, 20, as shown, to receive the nut z, and allow of its being turned, and also with a vertical slot. or. (Shown by dotted lines in Fig. 6.) Therefore, by the foregoing construction and arrangement it will be seen that by turn ing back the nut z, so as to loosen the parts ow, the angle of the cultivator-blade T (see dotted lines, Fig. 1) may be varied at will by simply turning the lower part, 10, forward or back the required distance and then fastening the parts together, as before described, the corrugations holding the parts as firm and rigid when thus fastened as though they were made in one part.

In using the cultivators, the seedcoverer E, seed-box or hopper M, and oth r parts not required to be used with the cultivators, may be temporarily removed if desired.

Having described our improvements in seeddrills and cultivators, what we claim therein as new and of our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a seeddrill, a horizontal perforated seed-gage plate N, having indicator-points formed upon the edges thereof, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. In aseed-drill, the combination. with the perforated gage-plate N, provided with indi- CfllZOPpOlDllS and hook-holes, of the seedindioator plate G and hook 0, substantially as shown and described.

3. In a seed-drill, the combination, with side frames, 0 O, bottomless seed box or hopper M, and concave bed-plate D M of seedgage-plate N seedindicator plate G, and holding-hook 0, all constructed and arranged to operate substantially as shown and described.

4. In a seed-drill, the combination, with the frame parts 0 G, of the tubular sleeves or cylinders P 1?, provided with thumb-screws 'r 'r, and the supporting-arms O O and marl;- ers O 0, made in one piece, as described, and adjustable laterally, and held-in place in said tubular sleeves P P by the thumbscrews r r, and being also adj nstable in any elevated position as to angle, and adapted to be held in any desired elevated position by the said thumbscrews r 'r, in the manner substantially as shown and described.

ALBERT H. MATTHEWS. JOSIAH B. SMALL.

Witnesses:

JOHN C. DEWEY, ALBERT A. BARKER. 

